


Solaris

by Cigarettes_and_Valentines



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, fluff mainly, probs some angst later on, teen parent mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-04-18 13:50:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4708265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cigarettes_and_Valentines/pseuds/Cigarettes_and_Valentines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of all the kids in Arthur's class, Matt is the most promising. However Matt's behaviour in class isn't exactly the most promising. After a meeting with his father, Arthur finds himself becoming more and more involved in the lives of the troubled teenager, and his even more troubled father Francis. Arthur just hopes that he can save a family falling to pieces before it's too late</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Arthur sighed and shuffled the papers on his desk again, taking another look down at his watch. It was going to be one long day. Not only did he have a full day of classes to teach, but after that he had parent-teacher interviews to attend. And they were usually worse than the kids themselves. But despite having to deal with parents who were sure they knew more about everything than he did, and teenagers who simply refused to learn a lot of the time, Arthur loved teaching. He loved it with a passion. To stand in front of a room of kids and talk to them about the literary greats from Shakespeare to Hemingway was like a dream come true to him, no matter how much crap he had to deal with.The pay may not be the best abs he might not get the most respect in the world from his students, but he wouldn't give it up for the world.

 

When the bell for the start of class rang, Arthur took a deep breath and prepared himself for the long day ahead of him. He smiled as his students began filing into the classroom and took their seats. After giving them a few minutes to get settled, he went through the attendance list before starting his lesson for the day.

 

"Okay everyone, so today we're going to pick up from where we left off and finish talking about what we read on Friday.” Arthur said. “So when we left off, Hamlet had met his father’s ghost, and his father’s ghost had told him that his uncle Claudius had killed him. So my first question for you all is this. Do you think that Hamlet should trust the supposed ghost of his father?” He looked around the classroom. Nobody had put their hand up. That wasn;t uncommon. It was first period on a Monday. It was expected for them to be a little slower than usual.

 

“Matt.” He said, his eyes narrowing on a blond student sitting at the back of the class. “Do you mind sharing your opinion?”

 

“Do I have to?” He asked.

 

“If you want a good grade, then I suggest that you do.” Arthur raised his thick eyebrows.

 

“Fine.” Matt said. “So I think that Hamlet should stop with the whole daddy issues thing and move on.” The rest of the class snickered.

 

“Move on?” Arthur asked. Matt wasn’t a bad student. In fact, he was far from it. The work he handed in was incredibly well done and he had great potential. However, he was less focused on studying and more concentrated on sitting in the back of the class, being loudmouthed and disruptive. He was going to have to have a very serious talk about him to his parents tonight.

 

“Yeah. I mean, why the hell does he have to be such a whiny baby about it? I mean, so what. Life sucks man, and he needs to deal with it.”

 

“But what about justice?” Arthur countered. “His father was murdered. Don’t you think that Claudius deserves to be punished for what he did?”

 

“Yeah, but karma will sort it out for him in the end so it won’t really matter, will it?” Matt replied.

 

“That’s not the point Matt.” Arthur replied. “Do you think Hamlet should trust the ghost of his father or not?”

 

“Well sure.” Matt said. “I don’t see why not.” Arthur turned back to the class.

 

“But the thing is, we don’t know if the ghost of Hamlet’s father actually is the ghost of his father. People were very superstitious in those days, and believed in things such as demons trying to trick them. Or maybe it wasn’t even anything supernatural at all. Don’t forget that Hamlet is under a lot of psychological stress at the time. It could have just as easily been a hallucination created by his own mind.” He looked around the room again. At least now everyone was paying attention. “So what I want you guys to do is write about what you think will happen if Hamlet trusts the ghost. One page long, and make sure you refer to what has already happened in the play. It will be due tomorrow morning.”

 

After that, the rest of the lesson passed quietly. He circulated around, occasionally offering help when needed, but for the most part he sat at his desk and planned out roughly what he would tell each parent. He was happy to say that nobody in his class was in any danger of failing. That was a relief. There wasn’t much which was worse than telling an angry parent that their child is failing.

 

The day crawled by slowly, and by the time it was lunch, Arthur was relieved. He was not so relieved by the fact that he was on duty, and therefore had to watch over the noisy cafeteria instead of enjoying a quiet lunch in his classroom. And it was just his luck that by the time he had sat down and taken the first bite of his sandwich, a commotion had broken out on the other side of the room. With a sigh, he got up and went to check what the hell was going on.

 

In the back of the cafeteria, two students were fighting while the janitor attempted to pull them apart. One was Ivan, the bulky exchange student from Russia (in all honesty Arthur commended whoever was brave enough to take him on) and the other student was Matt. Big surprise. Once Arthur and the janitor had managed to successfully separate the two, Arthur turned to the both of them.

 

“What is all this about?” He asked.

 

“He started attacking me when I pointed out his team can’t play.” Ivan said, looking over at Matt with contempt.

 

“Hey! This wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t opened his big mouth in the first place! You don’t make fun of the Canadiens, man!” Matt stressed. The two of them still looked furious.

 

“Pffft. You Canadians and your crappy teams.” Ivan replied with a smirk.

 

“What did you say?” Matt shouted, leaping forwards at Ian again. It took both Arthur and the janitor to restrain him.

 

“Ivan, go to the office. Now. Matt, Come with me, I want to talk to you outside for a second.” After Ivan grudgingly left, Arthur took Matt out of the cafeteria. He walked to his classroom in silence, making sure that Matt was following him. Once they were in the classroom he carefully closed the door behind them.

 

“Matt, what is this all about?”

 

“I told you.” Matt replied indignantly. “He made fun of my team!”

 

“And you decided to fight him? Just over a hockey team?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Look Matt, I know that this isn’t the first time you’ve been caught fighting. Is there something you need to talk about?”

 

“No.” Matt said. “I’m fine. He just really pissed me off.”

 

“Well, you need to stop letting people really piss you off. If you keep this up, I don’t know how long they’ll let you stay in the school for.”

 

“Okay. I’ll try to keep my temper. Can I go now?”

 

“You can go to the office and finish talking this over with the principal, Matt.” Arthur said sternly. “And I’m going to talk to your parents about this when they come to see me today.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yes.” Arthur said. “Look, you can’t carry on getting into fights over little things like this. It could get you into a lot of trouble one day. Now go to the office. The principal is probably wondering where you are.”

 

~~

 

Matt’s parents were scheduled for the last appointment of the day. At half past nine in the afternoon. Arthur looked to the classroom door as he waited for them to arrive. Not only did he have a lot of important things to talk about, but after this, he could go home. And after a long day, he deserved to go home and have a nice hot cup of tea. As half past nine came, Arthur waited patiently. Five minutes passed, and then ten. This was really annoying. If Matt’s parents hadn’t planned on coming to see him in the first place, then what was the point in making an appointment? Arthur could have gone home early instead.

 

At quarter-to-nine, the door opened and an attractive man with gorgeous long blond hair came in and took a seat.

 

“Ah. I’m so sorry I’m late. It’s been a hectic day at work today and I got a bit delayed.”

“No worries.” Arthur replied with a slightly forced smile. “It happens to us all.” The man smiled.

 

“So you are Matthieu's English teacher?” He asked.

 

“Yes.” Arthur replied. “And you must be -- his elder brother?”

 

“Oh no.” The man replied. “I’m his father. Francis Bonnefoy. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Kirkland.”

 

“And you yourself.” Arthur replied, now feeling slightly embarrassed. “And I’m sorry about that. It’s just that you look far too young to be Matt’s father.” And it was true. The man didn’t look a day older than thirty. Probably just very good genes, Arthur thought to himself. The lucky sod.

 

“I guess I do.” Francis said. “I was a little young when he was born. But anyways. How is he doing? Is he handing his work in on time? Is he behaving himself.”

 

“Well,” Arthur began. “He’s very bright. His grades are great. However there is the problem of his behaviour.”

 

“Oh,” Francis sighed. “Yes, this.”

 

“I’m guessing that you already know this, but Matt has a habit of getting into physical fights with other students. He can also be very disruptive and rude during classes.” Arthur said. Francis shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“I’m sorry. I really am, His behaviour is unacceptable, I know. I just don’t know what to do.” Francis said.

 

“Mr. Bonnefoy, I understand that parenting can be a very hard job -- ”

 

“I just -- I’m lost here. I have to spend nearly all day working at the restaurant otherwise it’ll fail, and then I barely have time for Matt when I get home.” Francis said, biting his lip.

 

“Well, maybe Mr. Bonnefoy, you need to figure a way to lighten your load. What about Matt’s mother? Isn’t she able to help you?” Francis shook her head.

 

“She hardly ever wants to meet him. I’ve been trying my hardest to raise him on my own since I was seventeen, and I’m just so scared.” Tears began to form in Francis’ eyes as he spoke. “Maybe I did something wrong and I messed him up. It would make sense. Teenage father who didn’t know what he was doing. I mean, I don’t know what to do to help him or make him stop, and if he keeps on going like this it’s really going to hurt him in the future.” Francis began sobbing. “And I don’t want to see that. And even if I do I’ll know that it was my fault, that I ruined my son’s life because I couldn’t raise him properly.”

 

Arthur was shocked for a moment. He’d never had a parent burst into tears on him in the middle of a conversation before. It was something he wasn’t quite sure how to handle. However, he had experienced his fair share of students bursting into tears before him, so he was at least prepared. He pulled out a box of paper tissues and placed them in front of Francis.

 

“Please, Mr. Bonnefoy.” Arthur said, more softly this time. “I can see how hard it’s been for you to manage all of this on your own, but Matt isn’t too bad of a kid. He has a lot of potential, and if he just watches his temper and his attitude, I can see him going very far in life.”

 

“Really?” Francis looked up hopefully.

 

“Yes. Maybe send him to anger management classes or something. I think that he does need to make a change in his life soon, but I don’t think that he’s a lost cause. And Mr. Bonnefoy, I’m sure that plenty of other teachers have had great things to say about Matt too. I can assure you that you haven’t failed in raising him. He may have a few issues, but he is a great kid.”

 

“Thank you, Mr. Kirkland. That’s very kind of you.”

 

“Please, call me Arthur.”

 

“In that case, you have to call me Francis.” Francis replied. “Thank you so much.”

 

“Please, Mr - Francis. Don’t worry about it. As Matt’s teacher it’s my job to help him be his best.” Arthur said with a smile.”And if you ever want any more help, please don’t hesitate to come to me.”

 

“That sounds fantastic.” Francis said. “And I know that this sounds a little odd, but would you be willing to come and have a coffee with me? To talk about Matt, of course.” He added quickly.

 

“Of course.” Arthur said. “When?”

 

“How about now?” Francis asked. Although Arthur was tired and wanted nothing more to crawl into bed, he wasn’t about to leave a man who had just burst into tears in front of him a few minutes ago all alone. And besides, a hot coffee sounded pretty good right now. And it was for his student. He told himself. He was only accepting the attractive man’s offer for coffee because he cared about his students deeply. They would talk about Matt for a while and then say goodbye. That would be it. No, Arthur wasn’t trying to fill the void in his social life that his teaching job sometimes made. He was Simply Helping A Student.

 

“Okay.” Arthur said. “There’s a little coffee shop a block from here. They’re great.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur smiled at the barista and ordered a large Earl Grey tea. No milk, with honey instead of sugar. His regular order. He looked over at the man who stood next to him, and there was no denying that he was gorgeous. Even with his long blond hair disheveled and eyes red from tears, his companion still had this strange beauty about him. Beautiful, and well-dressed, the man looked more like he belonged on a runway than he did like a single father in a small town. Arthur couldn’t help but wonder a little more about the man he’s promised to help. What was someone who looked so out of place doing here anyways? Quickly, before Francis could notice that Arthur was staring at him, he looked away, suddenly becoming very invested in the display of baked goods laid out entice customers.

“Can I get you anything else, Sir?” The barista asked, watching Arthur stare at the food.

“Uhh… Can I just have a raspberry muffin too?” Arthur asked.

“Sure.” The barista said, picking one up, sliding it into a paper bag and handing it to Arthur. “And can I get anything for you, Sir?” The barista looked to Francis.

“A caramel latte and a croissant please.” He said, taking out his wallet.

“Let me pay.” Arthur said firmly.

“Oh no, really you shouldn’t.” Francis replied.

“I insist.” He said, and handed the barista enough change to pay for the both of them. They found a booth tucked away in a faraway corner and say down. Even though they were in a public place, Arthur had figured that Francis had wanted at least some privacy. He watched as Francis took a small sip of coffee, watching the way his lips moved for a moment before mentally kicking himself. Yes, the man was attractive, and yes it had been a very long time since he’d last been on a date, but that didn’t mean that he needed to start falling head over heels for one of his student’s parents. And besides, he wasn’t even sure if it was _allowed_. Who knew how much trouble he could get into for dating a parent? Hell. He could even lose his job. No. Francis was strictly off limits.

“So…” Arthur began, stirring his tea absentmindedly. “You were talking about Matt?”

“Yes.” Francis nodded and held his cup tightly. “I don’t know what to do about him. I’ve seen the people he hangs around with outside of school, and I’m getting worried. I don’t want him to end up doing something that he’ll regret later on in life.”

“I understand why you’d feel that way,” Arthur began. “But Matt is a very smart kid. I’d like to think that he knows better than to do something stupid.”

“I would too, but I’m just not sure anymore. He’s started coming home later at night and hanging around more people who you usually wouldn’t let your children anywhere near. And I wish that I could do more to stop him but I just can’t be there for him as much as I want.” Francis let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, I’m just sitting here complaining.”

“Oh,no.” Arthur replied. “I can see your problem. It has to be hard, looking after a teenager all on your own.” He took a tentative sip of tea. “May I ask? Where exactly is his mother?”

“I don’t know.’ Francis picked up his croissant. “She didn’t want custody of Matt after he was born. A few months later, she’d cut off all contact and moved away. I have no idea where she is.”

“Have you tried looking for her? Maybe now, since she’s older, she might be willing to help you out.” Arthur suggested. Francis shook his head.

“Matt tried countless times when he was younger.” He said. “I think that’s part of the reason why he’s grown up so _bitter_.” Arthur nodded and drank another sip of tea, not sure what to say.

“Like I said, he’s a good kid. I think his heart is in the right place, but I guess I can see why you’re so worried.” He said. “You talked about having to work late shifts didn’t you? Isn’t there any way you can rearrange your shifts at work? It should let you spend more time with your son, which would be a lot better.”

“No. I’m too valuable to them. They need me in the kitchen for the dinner rush.” Francis frowned. “I want to spend time with him, I really do, but I can’t give up that many hours.”

“I understand. It really must be hard being a single parent.” Arthur said sympathetically. “I’ll make sure to look out for Matt more around the school. I can try to talk to him if you would like, but I’m not sure what good that would do.”

“You would?” Francis looked up at him with bright and hopeful blue eyes. “Thank you so much!” Arthur couldn’t help but smile back when he saw the blond’s slightly relieved smile. He really was a very attractive man. Especially with that long silky hair.

Arthur had always had a thing for guys with long hair. Always. And it was just his luck that the man who he was supposed to be helping and not having any feelings for had beautiful flowing long hair. Sometimes life was a bitch, it seemed.

“You’re welcome.” Arthur replied with a smile. “I wouldn’t want Matt to land himself into trouble either.”

“Thank you again.” Francis looked down at his watch and began to stand up. “Really, what you’re doing for me is fantastic. And I’m so sorry that I have to run out on you like this, but I have to check on the restaurant before it closes for the night.”

“Oh no problem at all.” Arthur said, also rising to leave. “I should probably go home and start marking anyways.” Francis smiled.

“Oh, and one more thing.” Francis took an unused napkin from the table, scrawled a line of numbers on it and handed it to Arthur. “Please, if anything happens, feel free to call me.”

“Okay.” Arthur replied. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah.”

~ ~ ~

Once Arthur got home, he lay down on the couch, exhaustion hitting him like a ton of bricks. His hand curled around the number scrawled in messy handwriting on the napkin. He’d managed to get a gorgeous-looking man’s phone number, but the only problem was he couldn’t quite bring himself to call him up. The groaned and rolled over, letting half his body dangle off of the couch. Why did he have to have such bad luck with relationships? Either he couldn’t find someone who he liked, and if he liked them, there was always something which kept them apart.

God damn it. He was just doomed to be alone, wasn’t he?


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur dreamed of the Frenchman that night. When he closed his eyes, he saw Francis laying in bed beside him, his golden hair spread out across the pillow. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but before he could make a sound soft lips pressed against his, silencing him. He moaned as he felt hands roam under his pajamas, feeling every single inch of his skin, stopping to tease every part which Arthur knew was particularly sensitive.

“Francis.” Arthur tried to speak but the word came out as more of a gasp. Hands were moving lower now, sliding into his pajama bottoms and giving Arthur more reason to moan. He arched his back in pleasure as Francis circled his hand around Arthur’s penis and began to stroke, teasingly slowly.

“More,” Arthur begged. “Faster.” Francis wordlessly obliged, speeding up and applying more pressure. He slid a hand back under Arthur’s shirt, running a thumb over each nipple before gently teasing and pinching it. Arthur cried out.

“Francis!” Francis remained silent, continuing to stroke, speeding up and applying more pressure still. Arthur writhed in pleasure. He ran his hands through Francis’s hair, tugging every now and again when it began to get too much to handle.  Gasping and moaning, he saw Francis above him leaning in for a kiss. Arthur licked his lips impatiently. He wanted this so badly, who even cared if it was right or wrong any more?

Looking up at Francis, he felt the telltale pressure in the base of his stomach, warning him that he was about to hit his climax. Arthur sunk further back into the cushions, waiting for it to hit in time with Francis’s rosy pink lips on his.

And then his alarm clock beeped obnoxiously, bringing him back to the real world. Arthur groaned and picked up the clock, throwing it at the wall. The impact caused the plastic to shatter, although it did not stop making noise. He groaned again and climbed out of bed to get the damn clock. He took one look at the damaged plastic before pulling out the batteries and throwing it in the garbage. It got what it deserved for waking him up at such a critical point in his dream. And now he stood in the middle of his bedroom with a raging boner and a newfound attraction to one of his pupil’s parents. He was at a bit of a loss as to what to do about the problem.

Maybe it really did all boil down to the fact that his dating life had been nearly nonexistent ever since he had gotten his new teaching job. He was just so sexually frustrated that he was latching onto the nearest person who looked attractive. And that person just so happened to be Matt’s father. Not that Francis wasn’t attractive in his own right. He was. Very much so. It was just that he wasn’t available to Arthur, as far as he knew. It was Saturday today, so maybe Arthur could finally put his marking aside for one night and maybe go out for a drink instead. He figured that, since he was in his late twenties, he was verging on being a little too old for clubbing, but a nice bar would do much better. He’d started to grow out of the way too loud music and way too tight clothing which were characteristic of nightclubs. Instead he was hoping for a cold beer and some good conversation.

He dragged himself to the bathroom to wash up and take care of himself before getting dressed and brushing his teeth. He made a quick breakfast of slightly burned toast and ate it while reading a new book he’d picked up a few days ago but hadn’t really gotten around to starting yet. He threw himself into his chores once he’d finished eating. Washing dishes that had been left to pile up in the sink, vacuuming the floor and cleaning the bathroom. He was halfway through scrubbing the bath when his phone rang.

“Hey Gilbert.” Arthur put the phone on speaker and went back to cleaning.

“Hey! Long time no see! I thought I’d better call and check that you were still alive because it’s like you dropped off the face of the earth for the past few weeks.” Arthur chuckled.

“I’ve just been really busy, you know.” He replied. “New job and all.”

“Yeah, I guess working with a bunch of bratty teenagers all day must get tiring.”

“They aren’t bratty!” Arthur replied.

“Oh yeah? I remember you calling on your first day telling me about a kid who was mad at her mom for buying her the wrong colour of iphone.”

“Okay, maybe some of them are a little bit bratty, but they’re good at heart.”

“’Course they are. Now more importantly, are you free tonight?”

“Why?”

“Don’t ask questions. Are you free tonight?”

“Ye-es.” Arthur said hesitantly.

“Good. We’re gonna pick you up at nine.”

“What?” Arthur asked. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out tonight.” Gilbert said mischievously. “It’s a surprise.”

“Now, Gilbert – “ Arthur began but was cut off by the sound of Gilbert hanging up the phone. Damn it. And for once he thought that he would be able to have a nice night out. Although to be fair, he had usually had a lot of fun with Gilbert and his other friends, but he knew Gilbert well enough to know that when he was planning something in advance was when you had to be cautious. If Gilbert was looking for a wild night, Arthur would probably disappoint him. He went back to cleaning the bath, dreading what Gilbert had planned for the evening.

He had finally finished washing the dished. Vacumming the house, cleaning the bathrooms, dusting the living room and mopping the kitchen floor. Exhausted, he collapsed onto his bed. His thoughts almost instantly came back to the dream he had last night. The one where Francis lay in bed beside him and doted on him. He wondered how the dream would compare to the real thing. Would he still be as gentle or would be more fierce in real life? And how would he sound? In Arthur’s dream, Francis had not said a single word, leaving him wondering what that thickly accented voice sounded like when its owner was crying out at the height of orgasm.

He was thinking about Francis again. He needed to stop that. Really. It probably wasn’t healthy.

Arthur made himself a sandwich for lunch and flicked mindlessly through television channels. Nothing good was ever on at lunchtime, which was a shame. The rest of the day, he spent reading a new book and staring out of the window mindlessly. All in all, not one of the most exciting days he’d ever had.

At eight o’clock sharp, Gilbert knocked on Arthur’s door. “Are you really going out in that?” He asked. Arthur had just grabbed the first things he saw that day, not putting too much thought into his wardrobe. He figured that if he was going to go out and meet people then he might want to dress a little more stylishly, but on the other hand dressing up took too much effort, and his partner would only be let down when he saw how Arthur dressed on a daily basis. Not that he even wanted a relationship with someone who put that much importance on dress, anyways. Dressing up just wasn’t worth the effort, in his opinion.

“Yeah.” Arthur replied. “I’ll be fine.”

“No you won’t.” Gilbert marched Arthur to his bedroom and threw open his closet. “There’s no way in hell that they’d let you in dressed like that.”

“Let me in where?” Arthur asked.

“Oh you’ll find out in due time.” Gilbert replied as he looked through all Arthur’s clothes, trying to find anything which didn’t look worn or have holes. “You know, maybe you need to go out and buy some new clothes. Ones which don’t make you look like you’re homeless would be nice.”

“Yeah, I know.” With student debt beginning to pile on top of him, a job that kept him busy all through most evenings and a general lack of any kind of shopping, buying new clothes was very low on Arthur’s priority list right now. He had more important things to worry about, like the essays he needed to start marking and how he was going to help Matt out without making it clear that his father told him to do so. Matt’s father, who worked long shifts at a local restaurant, and who was very dedicated to his son’s welfare and currently very worried about his son’s activities. Arthur thought back to how he comforted the tearful man in his classroom, and how simply beautiful he looked, even when he had just spent a solid five minutes weeping. His thoughts travelled to the long blonde hair he’d seen in his dream, and he wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through it. It would probably feel very silky, Arthur thoughts, smooth and soft, but probably with a warm and comforting smell at the same time. He could easily see himself playing with it, twirling the fine golden strands around his fingers if he got the chance to touch them.

“Hey Arthur.” Gilbert called, and Arthur received no warning as a small heap of clothes was thrown at his torso. Back from his daydream, Arthur fumbled to catch the bundle and ended up dropping half of the clothes onto the floor. “Stop daydreaming and get dressed.” And with that Gilbert left the room.

Arthur dressed himself in what Gilbert had given him, pants, a shirt, a jacket and a scarf. He doubted that he really needed the scarf, as it wasn’t even that cold outside, but he decided that wearing it meant Gilbert couldn’t make fun of him for being unstylish as much as he usually did. Once dressed, he gave himself a look in the mirror. He looked pretty good, he had to give credit where it was due. Gilbert knew how to pick out clothes. He emerged into the sitting room to find Gilbert sitting on his couch, scrolling through his phone.

“You’re looking good.” He said, taking in Arthur’s outfit as he stood up. “Much better than before.”

“Thanks.” Arthur said, fiddling with the edge of his scarf. “So are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”

“Nope.” Gilbert replied as they headed out of Arthur’s apartment and went for Antonio’s car.

“That’s great.” Arthur replied as he approached the car. “Is Toni coming with us?”

“No. Lovino would kill him if he came.” Gilbert said. “It’s just you, me and Alfred tonight. My brother said he might meet us there, but we’ll see if he shows up.”

“Are we going to some kind of a strip club or something?” Arthur asked. “Because Gilbert, I’m not in the mood. I just want to find a guy who I can sit down and have a nice conversation with tonight, That’s it.” Maybe he did want a little bit more than a drink and an interesting discussion about literature, but he only wanted that from one person right now, and that person was far out of his reach.

“Nope!” Alfred replied from the back seat. “But I’m sure you’ll love it.” And so for the majority of the car ride, Arthur was trying without avail to guess what exactly the two had planned for them that night, but much to his frustration, they continued to keep their lips sealed until the moment they arrived at their destination. Arthur looked out of the window to find a small, slightly seedy-looking establishment named “Red Aces”.

“So this is your big surprise?” Arthur asked, unfazed.

“Yup.” Gilbert replied. “Come on, let’s go in.”

And so they entered, and on first glance, Arthur noticed that it was not like any of the clubs he had been to before. Tables were set, and at each one, a couple sat and talked, sometimes a man and a woman, but also sometimes two men. It took Arthur a few seconds for it to sink in.

“You took me to a host club?” He asked incrediously. “I didn’t even know these things existed around here!”

“Well they do, and we thought it would be fun to try.” Gilbert replied. “So loosen up. It’ll be just like going on a date.” Arthur grumbled, but agreed to stay. A middle-aged man at a desk explained the rules to them, they paid and would take a seat and then each person would spend half an hour with a different host, meeting three hosts in total. They paid their fees and each took a seat.

Arthur shifted nervously in his, an old leather chair. He never had done anything like this before and was slightly nervous. He knew that he shouldn’t be, but he couldn’t really help himself. He didn’t really know how these things were supposed to work, and wondered if even though the manager had explained all the rules to him, he would end up doing something wrong or offensive anyways.

So he sat and waited quietly until he was met with a familiar pair of blue eyes and wave of blonde hair.

“Francis?”


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur was beyond shocked. The man sitting before him was unmistakeably Francis, with his gorgeous blonde hair tied up in a loose bun and wearing a fine silk shirt. When he was actually _trying_ to look sexy. Arthur found it hard to think about much else, his thoughts, in what was becoming the norm right now, floated back to Francis. He looked so much better with his hair up, Arthur thought, although he couldn’t help wondering what it would feel like to take it out if its bun and run his fingers through it.

“Arthur?” Francis asked. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“And I could say the same about you.” Arthur replied. “I thought you said that you work in a restaurant.”

“I do.” Francis replied, “This is just a way to make ends meet. Starting up a restaurant can get expensive, so on my nights off I work here. What are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Arthur asked. “My friends took me here because they think I need a release or something.” He looked down at the table, this was awkward. He tried not to think about the dream he’d had about Francis that morning while he sat in front of him. This wasn’t what he needed. He needed time away from Francis, at least he hoped that time away from him would give him a chance, however slim that was, to find a person who he could actually date.

“I see.” Francis said. “Do you want to see someone else? If you want, I can get someone else.”

“No, it’s okay.” Arthur replied without thinking. This was followed by a few moments of awkward silence. “I think I’ll just go home, actually.”

“Are you sure?” Francis looked up with slightly widened eyes. “It’s not a problem, I’d hate to ruin your night.”

“Really it’s fine.” Arthur gave Francis a smile that he hoped looked reassuring instead of forces. He stood up to leave, picking up his jacket.  “I was dragged here against my will in the first place. Honestly, I’d be just as happy at home with a book right now. It was nice to see you again.” He left quickly before Francis had a chance to reply. If he’d stayed any longer, and let Francis flirt with him, then the damage done to his heart would be irreversible. He knew himself very well, and part of that was knowing just how easy it was for him to fall in love hard.

“Where are you going?” Gilbert called out from his table.

“Home.” Arthur replied. “And next time you want to go to a host club, there’s no need to invite me.” He was looking forwards to spending the night curled up in the sofa with a warm cup of tea and then maybe a take-out curry. Who needed a boyfriend anyway? He walked out, his shoulders slumping the moment he was out of sight of the host club.

He _couldn’t_ date Francis. He couldn’t sleep with him. He just couldn’t. It could risk him the job that he’d tried so hard to get himself, and there was no way in hell that he was going to let anything like that happen. But yet, even after only seeing him a couple of times, he already felt something special. He’s had this problem for as long as he could remember. He fell in love to easily, and left his heart out on a line, only to watch it break time and time again. He should be bitter about it, he thought. He should be angry about the way that life and love was treating him, but sadly he was not. He was still setting himself up for the same mistakes again and again.

He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. As he walked through the red light district, he heard people calling out their wares to him. Prostitutes dressed in clothes which were either too revealing or too tight look comfortable called out at people up and down the street. “I can make you feel good for tonight.” They promised, and a few feet away from them stood the drug dealers, huddled in corners and whispering the same thing in different ways. But he didn’t want to feel good _for tonight_ , he wanted to feel good every night. That momentary moment of pure ecstasy that came with purchased sex or drugs was short lived, and he knew from experience that it would leave him feeling worse in the morning.

So he headed back home, after paying the surprisingly pricey fee for the host club, he couldn’t even afford a cab home, and was forced to walk all the way. And as if he hadn’t already had enough of a bad night, the heavens decided to open and drench him with rain.

He wished he’d stayed at home.

Soaked from the rain, he hurried home, hiding under the concrete awnings of buildings whenever possible. Soon he was soaked to the skin, his hair and clothes dripping wet and his shoes filled with rainwater.

Yet Arthur’s run home was brought to a halt when he spotted a familiar group of teenagers huddled under the awning of an office building about two blocks from his house. They weren’t all his students, but he was pretty sure that he knew at least half of them. It looked like they were gathered around something, whispering about it nervously, but Arthur couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Are you guys okay?” Arthur asked, approaching them.

The students looked taken aback by Arthur. “Mr. Kirkland!” A student he couldn’t for the life of him remember the name of. “What are you doing here?”

“I live nearby.” Arthur replied. “What are you guys doing here?” None of the students responded, and instead they looked away shiftily.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to tell anyone. Do you guys need help?” Arthur asked.

“Uh… well it’s Matt.” The student said. Arthur bit his lip. Matt, as in Francis’s son, Matt? Shit, he was supposed to be looking out for him, and then this happened.

“What happened to him?” The teenagers parted to let Arthur see. He sucked in air in surprise, as Matt lay on the floor, unconscious, his limbs splayed out like a ragdoll thrown to the ground.

“I don’t know. We were out drinking and I think someone slipped him something. He’s all zoned out and he can’t even walk.”

“Did you call a paramedic?”

“No.” The student looked away. “We’re all underage.” Arthur nodded. They didn’t want to get in any trouble. Logical enough, even though it could cause more trouble for Matt.

“You really should. It’s not a good idea to leave him alone.” Arthur replied. “Look, if you don’t want to get into trouble, I can call the paramedic.”

“You would?” The teenager asked hopefully.

“Yes. I only live a couple blocks away from here. We can take him there while we wait for the paramedic to arrive.”

And so a couple of Matt’s friends scooped him up, and in the rain Arthur led them to his apartment. The group of teenagers tramped up the stairs, taking Matt with him. Arthur called an ambulance as he rushed to the apartment.

“Lie him down on the couch.” Arthur said, unlocking the door and letting the teenagers in. He looked at Matt again, who was still unconscious, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Looking out for him wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought it would be, he told himself as he waited for the ambulance to arrive.

 


	5. Chapter 5

 “So tell me what happened.” Arthur said.

“I dunno.” Said the student whose name he couldn’t remember. Maybe it was Jason. “He just…”

“Look guys,” Arthur sighed. “I’m not trying to get you into any trouble here. I just want to find out what happened to him. I need you to tell me the truth.”

“Well, I don’t even really know. It’s not like he took something or anything like that. We snuck into a bar and he was just having a drink. Like he didn’t even drink that much but he started getting all weird and passed out.”

“What do you mean by ‘getting all weird’?” Arthur asked, making sure that Matt was lying on the couch on his side, just in case he threw up.

“He was just, you know, acting like he was really drunk. Like he couldn’t walk straight and stuff.” Jason said. “He wanted to stay and drink but we wouldn’t let him. We were trying to take him home when he passed out on the way.”

“Hmm…” Arthur chewed his lip thoughtfully. “Do you think it’s possible that someone could have slipped him something?”

“Why would someone want to do that?”

“I don’t know, but it is likely.” Arthur said. He looked over to Matt, who still lay on the couch, his limbs splayed everywhere, completely unaware of where he was. “Did you see him get up and leave his drink alone at any time through the night?”

“It’s hard to say.” Jason said slowly. “I mean, we were all over the place so I can’t say that I saw him with the drink in his hand all night.”

“Thank you, that’s enough.” Arthur said. “Do you guy want to go to the hospital when the ambulance arrives? Can you afford a cab there?”

“Between us,” Another teenager, this one’s name was Sara, said. “Definitely. Don’t worry about it Mr. K. They’ll probably want you to go with him too since he’s underage and you’re his teacher and stuff.” Arthur nodded. Matt lay still on the couch and Arthur frowned. If he’d gotten Francis’s number he would have been able to call him and tell him what was happening. And it was starting to make sense now, Matt’s behaviour. If Matt knew that his father was going out at night and doing that sort of thing for money, then that would easily give the kid cause to misbehave in class. Now that he thought about it, Matt was considered to be from a low-income family by the school. He had to get financial assistance to pay for field trips, and it wasn’t too unusual to see his friends either buying or bringing lunch for him. It really seemed like Francis was trying his hardest. But it was still probably very difficult though, to raise a teenager without much money.

His train of thought was broken when he heard the sirens go off outside. The ambulance had finally arrived. With the help of the paramedics and a couple of the students, they managed to get Matt safely down the stairs and into the ambulance.

“Sir, may I ask what your relationship is to the kid?” A paramedic asked, turning to face Arthur.

“He’s my student. I was walking home when I saw the kids crowding around him. They all go to the school I teach at. I saw that he was passed out and figured that since my flat was nearby we could keep him out of the rain there while we waited for an ambulance.”

“And you’re sure that he didn’t take anything other than alcohol tonight?”

“I wasn’t there, so I can’t say for myself. But the kids seem pretty sure that he hadn’t taken anything purposely. He might have been slipped something though.” Arthur replied. The paramedic nodded.

“Are you going to come with the kid?” He asked. Arthur paused for a moment. He felt that this was crossing the boundary between what a teacher should and shouldn’t do for their students, however there wasn’t really much else he _could_ do here. It wasn’t like he could just leave Matt all on his own right now. And of course someone would have to be there to comfort Francis once he found out. It would be better if Arthur stepped up and took care of things. And besides, how likely was it that the principal would find this out, given that none of the students were likely to spread word about the fiasco and risk getting themselves into trouble?

“Okay.” Arthur replied. He climbed into the back of the ambulance. They asked him questions that he didn’t really know the answer to. Had this happened before? Did he drink often? How well did he handle his alcohol? Maybe it would have been more helpful if Matt’s friend Jason had come along instead.

Once they finally got to the hospital, Matt as rushed to a room to get his stomach pumped, which left Arthur to fill in some paperwork. He then waited outside Matt’s room, listening to the unpleasant mix of gagging and vacuum-cleaner-like suction noises that came from the procedure. In his youth, Arthur had had to get his stomach pumped a couple of times. The experience was high on his list of ones which he never wanted to repeat.

He guessed that they had called Francis, because he soon showed up, his purple silk shirt soaked by the rain and strands of hair escaping from his already messy bun. He looked worried, wet hair plastered to his face an teeth chewing his lip.

“Arthur?” Francis asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw Matt and his friends on the way home. He was already passed out and they were all too afraid to call an ambulance, so I did.” Arthur replied, shifting on the bench he was sitting on to give Francis room to sit. Francis smiled weakly and took a seat, sighing and leaning back into the chair.

“I just hope nothing goes wrong.” Francis replied, looking at the closed door through which more gagging sounds were emanating.

“Don’t worry,” Arthur replied. “He’ll be fine.”

“This shouldn’t have happened.” Francis said. “He’s sixteen for God’s sake he shouldn’t even be drinking!”

“Well, Francis. He is a teenager. You know what they’re like. It’s normal to do this kind of thing.”

“No. It’s normal to steal a bottle of wine from the cupboard or try and get your older cousin to buy you some whiskey. It isn’t normal to sneak out and drink until you pass out!” Francis buried his face in his hands and shook his head. “He’s doing this on purpose, I know. He’s doing all this because he’s angry at me.”

“That’s not true.” Arthur hesitated for a moment before placing a reassuring hand on Francis’s back. “Why would he be angry at you?”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Francis replied. “Look at me, you know what I do for money. Do you think that any kid would be proud of a parent like that? I’m barely at home, I can never afford to get him anything nice for his birthday or Christmas or anything. I can’t even keep up with what he’s doing at school. No wonder he hates me.”

“Look, I’m sure that Matt doesn’t _hate_ you.” Arthur began to rub Francis’s back. “Francis, you’re doing your best – “

“I know I am but it just isn’t good enough.” Francis cried harder, but then abruptly stopped when a realization hit him. “Oh God.”

“What?”

“What if they take him away?”

“What?”

“What if, after this, social services decide that I’m not fit to raise a child? What if they want to take him and put him in a home? Oh God.” Francis began to rock back and forth. “I don’t know what I’d do without Matt.”

“Don’t worry.” Arthur continued rubbing small circles into Francis’s back. “Everything is going to be okay. I really doubt that social services will just take Matt away like that.” He heard Francis’s sobs quieten. He stopped crying and sat up. Even though he’s wiped the tears from his face, he still looked on the brink of more tears.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Arthur nodded. “I had to study this kind of stuff in teacher’s college. As long as you haven’t had too many previous run-ins with social services, they won’t take away Matt like this. At most, what they’ll do is an inspection.”

“And if I fail the inspection?”

“Then they can take him away. But don’t worry. It’s really easy to pass the inspection. You just have to show them that you can keep him clean, safe and well fed.” Arthur replied. “Really Francis, it’s pretty unlikely that they’ll take him away.” Francis nodded and sniffed.

“Thank you Arthur. Thank you so much for bringing Matt to the hospital and for talking to me about this and everything.”

“It’s no problem.”

“No really. Thank you. Something terrible could have happened to Matt out there if you hadn’t come in and helped out. Thank you so much.”

“Really, there’s no need to worry about it.” Arthur replied.

“Mr. Bonnefoy?” A doctor walked up to the two. “I can confirm that your son is going to be just fine now. You can take him home soon, just make sure that he gets plenty of bedrest and fluids. He might have a reduced appetite tomorrow morning, but that will fix itself soon.”

“Thank you Sir.” Francis replied. “So there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Well I wouldn’t say that there’s absolutely nothing to worry about. We found traces of GHB in his stomach.”

“GHB?” Arthur repeated.

“Yes. Someone tried to drug your son, Mr. Bonnefoy. You should consider yourself lucky that his friends were there to take him home quickly before something happened to him.” The doctor said. “I’d advise that you be more careful from now on. If you’re going to let your son go out, make sure that he’s aware of the risks that it entails.” Francis nodded, paling a little.

“Can I go see my son?” He asked.

“I would give him a little longer. He’s still asleep.”

“Okay,” Francis said and slunk back into the bench. Arthur looked at him before promptly standing up.

“Are you leaving?”

“No. Why don’t you come and get some coffee?” Arthur asked. “You look like you need a warm drink.”

“Oh no, I’m fine.”

“Come on. It’ll help kill the time until Matt wakes up.” Arthur said with a smile. Francis rose out of his seat and followed Arthur to the hospital cafeteria where they drank bad coffee.

“You should get something to eat.” Arthur commented. “You’ll need the energy.” Francis shook his head and continued to sip his coffee.

“I’ll be alright.” Francis replied. “And besides, I don’t really think that I can eat right now, knowing what happened to Matt. Someone _drugged_ him Arthur! God knows what they were planning to do with him after that! What if something had happened to him? If his friends weren’t there with him he could have gotten – “ Francis trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

“But they were.” Arthur reassured. “Matt didn’t get into any really serious harm, and he’s going to be fine, Francis. Everything will be okay.”

“I just don’t know what to do.” Francis replied, stirring his coffee. “He’s going to really mess himself up one day, and I don’t know how to stop him.” Arthur shook his head. He didn’t quite know either. Maybe Matt was bothered by what Francis did for a living, and maybe he wasn’t. It was hard to say anything right now. All Arthur knew was that he had promised to help Francis and help him he would.

After they had finished their coffee, they headed back to see if Matt had woken up yet. He had, and they took him home, Arthur helping to support Matt as they got into the cab and then refusing to let Francis pay for the journey. On the ride home, Matt sat between them, his head resting on his father’s shoulder. Arthur looked over at the two of them. What was he getting himself into?

He helped Francis take Matt up the stairs of their apartment block and into their small home. It was clean, furnished with cheap furniture and old electronic appliances. Together they took Matt to his bedroom, which was much messier than the rest of the tidy home. Once the teenager was safely in bad, the two left the room.

“Thank you for everything tonight.”

“Honestly, you don’t need to worry about it.” Arthur insisted again. “It was no problem.”

“No, we must have ruined your whole night.” Francis replied.

“My night was already heading that way when my friends thought it would be fun to drag me to a host club without telling me.” Arthur said with a small smile. “Really. I’m always happy to help.”

“What can I do to ever repay you?”

“There’s no need to repay me.” Arthur said. “I just did what any decent person would do in that situation.”a

“But still,” Francis leaned over and surprised Arthur with a small kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much.”

When Arthur bid goodbye a few minutes later, his cheek still tingled. Francis’s lips had been soft, and had sent sparks running under Arthur’s skin. He ran his fingers over the patch of skin Francis had kissed, a giddy smile on his face. If this was what a little kiss on the cheek was like, he could only imagine how it would feel to have his lips pressed passionately against Francis’s, tongues and teeth all over the place. His smile grew wider. Francis had _kissed_ him. Whether it was just from relief or it was something he really meant, Francis’s lips had touched Arthur’s skin, and for one brief moment that night, he really did feel amazing.


	6. Chapter 6

When Arthur got back to his apartment, he barely got to the bedroom before he fell asleep. He dreamed of Francis again but this time it wasn’t as nice of a dream as the last one. This time when he closed his eyes he saw Francis’s tearful face when he had head what had happened to his son. Despite how tired he was, his sleep was soon disturbed by thoughts of Matt. How many times had something like this happened before? How many more times could it happen before it got serious?

He knew what he was supposed to do in a situation like this. It had been a part of his training. He’d had to learn what to do to help students who were having problems at home. If it looked like a parent wasn’t capable of looking after their child then he was supposed to call child services. But that was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t want to break up Francis’s family when it was clear that he cared so much about his son. And besides, he’d promised that he was going to help Francis. Taking Matt away from him wasn’t going to help very much.

Maybe it would be a good idea to call him, just to make sure that Matt was okay after what had happened last night. And while he called he could ask Francis if he needed any more help. Yes, that kiss still played on his mind. A tiny little kiss on his cheek which had make his heart flutter. Okay, so Gilbert _could_ have been right when he said that Arthur needed to get laid. Regardless, Arthur called Francis.

“Hello?” Arthur’s heart started beating just a little faster when he heard Francis’s voice.

“Francis?” Arthur began. “I just wanted to call and check up on Matt. How is he?”

“He’s doing better.” Francis replied. “He’ll be okay, and that’s what’s important.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Oh, and I just want to thank you for all your help yesterday. Really, I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“No. Something really serious could have happened to him if it weren’t for you.” Francis said. “I really can’t thank you enough.”

“Honestly, it just makes me happy to help Matt.” Arthur replied. He hesitated for a moment, he could just take a leap of faith here. It wasn’t a problem if he was _friendly_ with a parent right? It wasn’t like they were dating or anything, so it wouldn’t be a problem, right? “Are you free to get coffee again sometime? I mean, it would give us a chance to talk about Matt and his school and stuff.”

“I’d like that.” Francis replied. “It would be nice to sit down and talk it out a little. Would you like to come over for some? That way you can check on Matt too.”

“Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll be over later today.” Arthur tried to stop himself from singing with joy at this point. He had a kind-of date with Francis. All it took to get this date was for his son to get alcohol poisoning. Love works in mysterious ways, that’s what his mother had always told him.

“That sounds lovely. How about around half past ten?” Francis asked.

“That’s perfect.” Arthur replied. “I’ll see you then.” Once he hung up, he looked over to the clock. It was only 8 o’clock. He had two and a half hours to kill now before his coffee date. He could get down to working on the lesson plans he’d been ignoring.

Sitting down at his desk with papers strewn around him, he found it hard to focus. He was busy thinking about Matt. The kid was good at heart and it hurt him a little to see him in situations like this. But how capable was Francis of taking care of him? He’d already decided not to call child services, but he was starting to wonder if that really was the best decision. From what he’d seen of Francis’s parenting it lacked a lot. Yes he was trying hard, and yes he was very good looking, but at the end of the day that didn’t matter. As a teacher he needed to think about what was best for his student, and maybe Francis wasn’t really the best thing for Matt.

He sighed and threw his pen down on the desk. He clearly wasn’t going to get any work done right now. Not when he was busy thinking about how he could ruin a child’s life simply for the sake of trying to get close to his dad. His conscience was beginning to weigh on him right now. He couldn’t just ignore the fact that Matt needed help. If what happened last night was an indication of the level of neglect that Francis giving him, Arthur needed to put his feelings aside and think about what would be best for everyone. Fuck, sometimes he hated having to be responsible.

Well, he was going over to their place anyways, he thought as he was getting ready. While he was at Francis’s apartment he would just have to sneakily assess him as a father. See if he had enough food in the fridge and if the place was clean and well-kept. At least that’s what he thought was one of the things social services did when they were trying to assess how good of a parent someone was. He was just doing a pre-screening. Yeah, that was a good way of putting it. He was just trying to check that there was really a reason to be concerned enough to contact any authorities.

Francis had texted him the address of an apartment block about a ten minute drive away. Smith Street, it wasn’t exactly an upscale place but it comforted him to know that at least they were living in a moderately safe part of town. He checked himself over in the mirror before he headed out, just to make sure that his clothes hadn’t magically wrinkled in the short time span since he’d put them on and that his hair still looked as perfect as it had when he’d brushed it four minutes ago. With one last check, he headed out the door, hoping that he wouldn’t have an excuse to further worry about Francis’s parenting skills.

Arthur drove to Francis’s apartment without the radio on. He wondered what he would find inside. Hopefully it wouldn’t give him any more cause for concern about whether or not he needed to call social services. It would be fine, he told himself. He was getting worried about nothing. Sure, Francis wasn’t the perfect father, but he had faith that he wasn’t as bad as to warrant needing the government to step in. It was going to be fine, he thought. He wasn’t going to find anything wrong with Francis’s apartment, and then he could go back to helping Francis like he did before, knowing that things could be much worse.

He could almost hear his own heart racing as he knocked on the door. The complex itself seemed okay. It looked a little run down, with blinds that wouldn’t open properly and cracked dirty windows, but that was an indication of how much money the landlord put into the building, not how much effort Francis put into making his home a livable place. It wasn’t fair to blame him for something he didn’t really have control over.

When Francis opened the door, Arthur was momentarily distracted by him. Today he was wearing tight black jeans and a loose t-shirt with the name of a band he hadn’t heard of on it. He had his hair tied up in a ponytail and again Arthur was having thoughts about what it what it would feel like to run his hands through that hair. It looked so smooth and silky, he imagined that carding his fingers through it would feel magical.

In other news, his apartment looked fairly clean. Maybe he really was worried about nothing, because Francis’s apartment looked just like any other person’s. Francis smiled and led him to a small couch in the middle of the seating area in the apartment. Arthur leaned back and let out a sigh of relief when Francis pardoned himself to go and make coffee. It really did seem like the only problem was Matt’s behaviour, not anything wrong with his home life.

“Milk and sugar?” Francis asked, popping his head around the door to the kitchen.

“Yes, two sugars please.” Arthur replied, counting the amount of cookbooks Francis had on the wall. So Francis may be a host instead of working in a café but at least he wasn’t lying about how much he loved cooking. It was like a whole library right there.

“Here you go.” Francis said as he set down two cups of coffee and a small plate of biscotti. “Matt’s doing a lot better, if you were wondering. He’s resting right now but the doctors said that there’s no more reason for concern.”

“That’s good to know. He had me pretty worried.”

“Me too.” Francis sat down and shook his head. “I just feel like this shouldn’t have happened in the first place. I mean, I didn’t even know that he was going out, and then I get a call in the middle of the night that he’s in the hospital. It’s scary. I’m scared that one day I’ll wake up in the morning and find out that something happened to him.” He set down his coffee cup shakily. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry, we can make changes.” Arthur said, he set down his cup and patted Francis’s shoulder. “Matt’s safe, nothing happened to him and that’s something we can move on from. I’ll find a way to help you. I promise.”

“Thank you again.” Francis replied. “You’ve been such a great help. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Really, Matt is a great kid and I just want what’s best for him.” Arthur said, and then hesitated. “So what do you think is the reason behind the problem? Why do you think that you can’t control Matt?”

“I just feel like I’m so busy. I spend my days working in the café and the evenings with my second job and I just don’t have the time to keep track of him.”

“Can you quit your second job?” Arthur asked, trying not to think about his experience of Francis’s other job.

“No, I can’t. The café is just starting off. I’m not making enough money from it yet to be able to work just one job. I can’t watch over him, and he’s seventeen. It’s not like I can hire a babysitter for him at this point.”

“I see what you mean.” Arthur said, racking his brain to try and find a solution. “How did you get into that… ahem line of work anyways?

“I met a guy at a bar. He – well he said that I have a certain charm, or something like that. He suggested it to me and then I just went for it. I’ve been working as a host for about ten years now. It’s been an – ahem – interesting experience.” He dipped his biscotti into his coffee and bit into it silently. “I really wasn’t expecting to see you, of all people there. You don’t really seem like the type to – “

“Oh no, I’m not.” Arthur replied. “What I mean is, my friends made me go. Otherwise it isn’t really my kind of place.”

“I figured not. No offense but you looked quite uncomfortable.”

Arthur laughed. “I bet. I was so uncomfortable. Once again, not really my kind of place.”

“Oh really? And what is your kind of place?” Francis smiled. “Let me guess, you love bookstores. Or small, quiet cafes.”

“Anywhere that can make a good cup of tea.” Arthur replied. “Or has good music.”

“Mmh?” Francis looked up from his cup. “And what kind of music is that?”

“I may not look like it, but I love rock music more than anything. The louder the better.”

“Now it was Francis’s turn to laugh. “I’m sorry. You just don’t really seem like the type who’d be into punk rock. You just seem so reserved.”

“Hey, I was young once!”

“And I bet you were biggest hooligan around when you were a kid.”

“Maybe I was!” Arthur was smiling, Francis was smiling and everything felt good. “But tell me, what kind of music do you like?”

“A little bit of everything, really.”

“Any punk rock by any chance?”

“No, not really. Maybe some time you can show me.”

“Definitely.”

“You’re going to have to bring some music with you the next time you come over.”

“There’s going to be a next time?”

“Of course, I need some help looking after Matt, right? So you’re going to have to come over. And maybe next time I’ll cook you something.”

“I’d like that.” Arthur said with a smile. Things were going well. He was content, he didn’t have to worry about Matt as much as he thought he would, and it really did seem that Francis actually wanted to get to know him better. How much better, he didn’t know, but it was something at least.

 


	7. Chapter 7

School on Monday was a pain. Arthur dragged himself out bed and looked out at the miserable, cloudy sky. While he dressed, he wondered if Matt would show up to class today. He’d never seen the kid skip before, but then again he’d never seen the kid pass out in the street before either. He ate breakfast slowly, debating whether it was aI good idea to call Francis and check on Matt one more time. The last time he saw him, Francis had told him that Matt would be just fine, and that there was nothing to worry about. He wanted to check up on him, but he didn’t want to pry.  _ It'll be fine,  _ he convinced himself before heading out the door.

Matt showed up to school halfway into the morning with a bad temper and a pounding headache. He really regretted drinking all that much on Friday, but that night had been fun. Or at least what he remembered of it had been. He trudged through the hallways, keeping his eyes down and trying to avoid sunlight as much as possible. He was stopped on his way to physics class when he walked straight into someone else.

“Sorry.” He replied and made to leave. He was stopped again by a hand on his shoulder.

“How are you doing, Matt?” Arthur asked.

“Fine.” Matt replied shortly.

“I mean after everything that happened on Friday. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Matt brushed off Arthur’s concerned question and gaze. “Just a bit of a hangover, that's all. Nothing I'm not used to.” That made Arthur frown. It  _ shouldn't  _ be something a kid of his age was used to. Hangovers, passing out drunk and alcohol poisoning being something that happened on a regular occurrence at his age were not to be taken lightly. If he let this behaviour follow him into adulthood, it was going to lead to some serious and maybe even dangerous consequences.

“I should go now Mr. Kirkland. I'm gonna be late for class.” Matt turned to leave.

“Alright Matt. And you know that you can come and talk to me any time if you need to.” Arthur said as Matt left.

“Don't worry.” He called from down the hall. “I'll be fine.” Now he could really start to see why Francis was so worried about him. It was his attitude more than anything, just how casual he was about the whole thing. It didn't seem to bother him in the slightest that Arthur had to call an ambulance for him, that he'd actually drank so much that he needed to have his stomach pumped. If he was so causal about this, it was hard to imagine where he would draw the line. At what point would Matt back out and say that whatever was happening around him was too dangerous for his liking? Would he even stop at all?

Arthur shook his head. He didn't know. Maybe getting to know Matt a little better would be helpful, but he really didn't see Matt coming to him to talk about anything other than homework. He had to come up with something.

Matt, meanwhile was having difficulty trying to concentrate with the constant pounding in his head. He’d already gone to the school nurse once to get painkillers and he doubted that she'd give him any more. He groaned and laid his head on his desk.

“Are you okay?” The girl at the desk next to him asked. Her name was Julia if he remembered it right. She was the one who say next to him in English.

“Yeah I'm fine.” Matt replied. “I've just got a fucking terrible headache.” He didn't think he'd ever had a conversation with her before.

“You know, you really should go to the nurse, it'd be the perfect excuse to get out of this damn class too.” She replied.

“I've already been. If I go again she's gonna think I'm selling the painkillers she's giving me or something.” Matt shook his head. “Like really, if I wanted to make real money, I wouldn't be selling ibuprofen.”

“I have some, if you want some.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah, only five bucks a pill.” Julia replied with a smile.

“Seriously?” 

“Well, since you're a first time customer, I'll give you a discount.” She rooted through her backpack until she pulled out a small plastic bottle of pills labeled “Extra Strength Ibuprofen”. She tossed them to Matt. “They're on the house.”

“Thanks.” Matt took a couple before passing the bottle back to her. He smiled and she smiled back. He wondered why he'd never really talked to her before. She seemed so nice. If his head hadn't been in so much pain he would have at least tried to make a little more conversation with her.

English class finally rolled around and when Matt walked into class he could feel Mr.Kirkland’s eyes on him, or as his dad called him, the hot teacher. He did his best to avoid eye contact with him, opting to open his book stood upright on his desk so that he didn't catch the teacher's disproving look while he dealt with his hangover. He gave Julia a warm smile as she sat down next to him.

Arthur was distracted in class. While he tried to teach, there was one part of his mind which was churning, trying to figure out a way to get Matt to realize just how much his destructive behaviors were damaging his life. He'd have to plan it out with Francis though, maybe even meet up a few times to discuss ideas and go over what their game plan would be. He felt a smile on his lips at the thought of meeting up with Francis again. It would be nice to catch up with him again. He knew that Francis worked at a cafe in the daytime, so maybe it was worth stopping by there sometime to meet him. He knew for a fact that he definitely wasn't going back to the host club again. That would just be embarrassing. He’d have to call him once he got the chance and talk to him about it. Maybe together they could come up with a way to get in touch with Matt, because whatever Francis was trying right now just wasn’t working. 

Matt spent English class half-asleep, with Julia helpfully nudging him every time Mr. Kirkland looked his way or asked him a question. She didn’t ask why he avoided looking at Arthur’s face when answering questions or why he was so intent on hiding behind his books, which was nice. Luckily, he managed to get through the lesson, and when the bell rang he hurried to get out of the door before Arthur spotted him.

“Matt? Can I have a quick word with you?” Arthur asked.  _ Damn. _ Matt quickened his step hoping that he could just slip by and pretend that he hadn’t heard him but he felt Arthur’s warm hand on his shoulder and stopped. Great. The last thing he needed right now was another long lecture on all the stupid things he was doing and how he needed to stop them or he would ruin his life. Maybe another time he would humour Arthur and actually listen to him, but right now his head was starting to hurt again and he wanted nothing more than to lie down in a quiet dark room and remain perfectly still.

“If this is about my homework, I promise I’ll have it on your desk by tomorrow.” Matt said.

“You know that this isn’t about your homework, Matt.” Arthur replied. “Sit down.”

“Look, I know what you’re trying to do, and I swear I’ve already heard enough of it form my dad.” Matt remained standing. “I don’t need you telling me what to do as well.”

“I’m not here to tell you what to do.” Arthur said calmly. “I’m just concerned.”

“Well, you don’t need to be. I can take care of myself perfectly fine.”

“That’s not what it looked like on Friday.” 

“What happened on Friday was a mistake, I’ll admit that, but that’s no reason for everyone to be so far up my ass about it!”

“Like I said before, I’m just concerned.” Arthur spoke slowly, trying not to let the teenager make him angry. “This is a big city, and if something were to happen to you -- “

“I was with my friends!”

“You still could have gotten hurt. I don’t understand how you can stay so casual about this.”

“Nothing bad happened, did it? I’m fine so what’s there to worry about?”

“Matt please, you have to take this seriously. Maybe this time everything worked out but that’s not always going to be the case.”

“Look, I know what I’m doing, okay? I’ll be fine.”

“Matt, just listen to me -- “

“I have to get going. I’m going to be late.” Matt left before Arthur could get another word in. Arthur let out an exasperated sigh. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.


End file.
